Evan is too perceptive, Avery thinks. If I'm not more careful, he's going to see right through me. I need to find a better way to distract him.

"Stop changing the topic," Avery says. "Do you want me to make you a gift or not?"

Evan wrinkles his forehead and says, "No, I'd rather not."

"Why not?" Avery asks.

"Last time you made me a gift, you left me," Evan explains. "I treasure your gifts, but I treasure you more. I'd rather have you than a thousand gifts."

Avery looks away guiltily, knowing that she plans on leaving him again. She chews her lip, trying to think of another way to distract him. She rubs her hands over her stomach, and suddenly she has an idea.

"What if we went and bought some gifts for our baby?" she asks. "Together?"

Evan frowns, "The baby isn't even born yet. Why do we need to start buying things for him or her?"

Avery rolls her eyes. She can't believe Evan is acting jealous of his own child. He's like a little kid, worried he wouldn't be the center of attention anymore. Avery sighs and runs her fingers through her hair.

"Evan, we don't have a single thing for the baby yet," Avery says. "We haven't bought a crib or clothes or diapers or even a stroller. We're completely unprepared. I haven't even given birth, and we're already terrible parents."

Evan's face turns thoughtful, and Avery feels guilty for being so manipulative. At the same time, she's relieved that her distraction has worked. Evan blinks, and Avery watches his long eyelashes sweep the tops of his cheeks.

"Okay, as soon as I can leave the hospital, we'll go buy things for the baby," Evan says. He smiles and adds, "We'll be just like a real family."

"As soon as you can leave the hospital?" Avery asks. "You're willing to go out in public even if you're still wearing the gauze? That might start a lot of rumors. Do you think your grandfather would be okay with that?"

Avery knows that Evan cares about his image, and he doesn't want the public to know about his latest injuries. She hates forcing him to stay in the hospital, but she's worried by the eagerness in his eyes. He's too excited about going shopping with her. If Andrew sees them out in public together, he'll assume she's broken their deal.

Evan nods sleepily and says, "Okay, we can go as soon as the bandages come off."

Avery asks Robert to bring a cot into the room so she can sleep next to Evan. Evan wants her to sleep in his hospital bed, but she's scared about rubbing against his injuries at night. She doesn't want to do anything that could hurt him.

When she wakes in the morning, a warm pair of arms are wrapped around her waist and a strong chest is pressed against her back. She turns her head and sees Evan's face. His eyes are closed and he's in a deep sleep—he looks perfectly peaceful.

Outside the door, Avery can hear whispered voices. A doctor is trying to make the rounds, but Robert is asking him to leave Evan alone. He's worried that the doctor's rounds will disturb Evan's sleep. Though bright light streams in through the window, Avery falls back asleep. When she wakes again, she's heard Robert's voice.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Howel, but Mr. Howel is sleeping," Robert says nervously. "If you go into the room, you might wake him up. The doctor said it's really important that he sleeps. You don't want to risk his healing process, do you?"

"Who do you think you are?" Florence Howel shouts. "I have every right to see my grandson. I can't believe some servant thinks he can stop me!"

"Of course, of course," Robert says. "Please forgive me. It's just that he's been through so much in the last 24 hours, and it's my job to make sure that he heals."

"Stop babbling and open the door," Florence says.

Avery hears a loud knocking on the door, and she tries to wake Evan. First, she whispers his name, and then she says it again a little louder. She wants to shake him or kick him, but he's holding her too tightly, and she's scared of accidentally touching his injured skin.

"Mr. Howel," Robert shouts through the door. "Mr. Howel, your grandmother is here to see you. She's coming in."

Evan continues to sleep, and Avery tries to break free. If Evan's grandmother sees them in bed together, she'll be furious. Avery tugs harder against his hand and manages to loosen his grasp. Evan grumbles sleepily and reaches for her again.

"Evan, wake up," Avery whispers. "Your grandmother is coming in."

"Ignore her and go back to sleep," Evan says, tightening his arm around her again.

Avery swallows nervously, and the door swings open. Florence Howel struts into the room as arrogant and angry as a peacock. Leonie trots behind her, wearing a pale pink dress. Leonie smiles her fake innocent smile and holds her flat stomach as if she's worried about her baby.

For a moment, Avery wants to close her eyes and pretend she's asleep, but she decides it's better to face them head-on. Florence frowns angrily when she sees Avery. Leonie's eyes flash with jealousy, but her fake smile stays plastered to her face.

"Hello, Evan," Leonie says in a cheerful voice. "Your grandmother and I wanted to check up on you. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Evan snaps, pulling Avery closer to him.

"Oh, you're so brave to say that, but I heard you were badly hurt," Leonie says. "Grandma and I heard that there was an explosion. Really, Evan, you need to be more careful. Why do you always end up in such dangerous situations?"

Florence stares accusingly at Avery, and Avery stares back at her as boldly as she can. The old woman's small eyes narrow. She purses her lips as if she's tasted something sour and looks at the empty hospital bed.

"Evan, you're in the hospital after an explosion," Florence says. "You're staying in the VIP ward with a proper bed, but you're lying with your mistress on a cot instead. What's wrong with you? Don't you have any concerns about our family image? Don't you have any respect for me? How dare you rub your affair in my face like this?"

Avery feels Evan flinch at the words "mistress" and "affair." She wonders if it's part of the reason he's so desperate to marry her again. She sighs and hopes he'll keep his cool. If he angers his grandmother, it'll only make things worse.

"I wanted to lie in bed with my wife," Evan snaps. "I don't see any problem with that."

"Don't you take that tone with me," Florence says.

"Avery is pregnant with my child—your heir, but she stayed up almost all night to take care of me," Evan says. "You say you're so concerned about me, but where were you last night? Why weren't you here?"

"We didn't get the news until very late," Florence says. "We didn't want to bother you, so we came first thing this morning instead."

"That's right, Evan," Leonie says with a huge smile. "If you want us to take care of you, I'm happy to stay with you tonight."

Though Leonie's tone is innocent, her eyes are full of invitation and enticement. Avery glares at her, but Leonie doesn't seem to notice or care. I can't believe her, Avery thinks. She's trying to seduce Evan in front of his own grandmother—she's absolutely shameless. But the old woman is so wrapped around her finger, and she doesn't even notice.

"No, I don't want that," Evan says rudely. "Now that you've paid your visit, Robert can escort you back to the mansion. Avery and I need to rest."

Florence's face goes pale, and then red splotches appear on her cheeks and nose. She scowls at Evan and shakes her head warningly, but she has no choice but to leave. She doesn't want to cause a scene in the hospital.

"I'm going to forgive your rudeness because you're tired and hurt," Florence says, but her voice sounds threatening. "Leonie and I will leave now, and I hope to find you in a better mood next time."

"Take care, Evan," Leonie says, waving her fingers as she leaves. "I hope you get well soon."

Avery breathes a sigh of relief as soon as the door closes behind them. Evan sighs sleepily and closes his eyes, eager to sleep again, but Avery is too angry and worried to sleep.

Leonie glances over her shoulder as she leaves and feels her blood boil with rage. That should be me curled up with him, she thinks. I deserve him, not Avery. Everyone tells me to be patient, but I'm sick of waiting. I'm sick of watching her rub her relationship with him in my face. Enough is enough.

"That woman is so shameless," Florence says in the elevator. "She saw me come into the room, but she stayed in bed with him. Besides, what kind of a woman sleeps with such an injured man. She must have cast some sort of spell over him to make him so careless about his own health."

"I agree with you," Leonie says. "I've always said that Avery is bad for Evan. Whenever she's around him, he acts like he's someone else. Besides, he always seems to get hurt when he's around her."

"They're not meant to be together," Florence says. "That woman is a curse."

Leonie takes Florence's wrinkled old hand in hers and frowns deeply. She says, "It's just so sad. He does so much for her, but she treats him so terribly. She's always going with other men or—"

"Going with other men?" Florence asks.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that," Leonie lies, opening her eyes wide and covering her mouth with her hand.

"Tell me, dear," Florence says.

"Well, a few nights ago, I saw something, but I kept it a secret because I didn't want to upset you," Leonie says. "But I guess you should know just how awful Avery is. You see, a few nights ago Avery got all dressed up and left the house. She told me she was going to meet Evan for a date, but she didn't come back at all. In the morning, she came back—in Mr. Clifford's car."

Florence shakes her head angrily and says, "I can't believe that."

"There's more," Leonie says. "I heard some bodyguards gossiping, and they said something awful. They said they could see the car rocking back and forth—it was parked right outside the mansion gates. Can you imagine the nerve? It's so disgusting."

The wrinkles on Florence's forehead deepen. Leonie can tell the older woman doesn't understand what a rocking car means, but she doesn't want to look too eager to say. She waits patiently until Florence shakes her head.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I don't quite understand you," Florence says. "Why was the car rocking? Why would people gossip about that?"

Leonie bites her lips and pretends to look embarrassed. She steps closer to Florence and leans over to whisper in the older woman's ear. "The guards say it means they were uh, making love," Leonie says.

Florence's face pales, and she shouts, "Oh shame on them! Shame on them!"

"It's so sad," Leonie says. "She's made him a cuckold, and he doesn't even know about it. It's not right for someone to treat him so cruelly."

"But what can we do to stop her?" Florence asks. "We have no evidence against her. And Evan is completely under her spell. He won't listen to us unless we can prove it."

Leonie smiles and says, "I think I have an idea."